swank and j



nsw/w AND 1. vmnm/ENTER. WIREFENGE Loom.

APPLECATION FILED MN. 23. 19H9. lgls Pateted May 3L 19,21.

` L. SWANK AND 1. E. VAN DEVENTER.

WIRE FENCE LOOM. APPLICATION rlLED 1AN.23. 1919.

Patented May 31, 1921.

2 SHEETSvSHEET 2 ,La @Sura/7K) fame 1/ Bere/:feg 7 UNITED STATES PATENT l OFFICE.

LAEE sWANK` AND JAMES E. vAN DEVENTER, or:'ANininsoN7` rNDrANA, ASSIGNORS To DWIGGINs WIRE FENCE COMPANY, or ANDERSON, INDIANA, A CORPORATION or INDIANA.

WIRE-FENCE LOOM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Y Patented May 31, `1921.

Application led January 23,1919. Serial No. 272,641.

To all whom 15, may concern:

Be it known that we, LAFE SWANK and JAMEs E. VAN DEVENTER, citizens of the United States, residing at Anderson, in the county of Madison and State of Indiana, have invented anew and useful Wire-Fence Loom, ofwhichthe following isa specification.

i In the operation of machines for produc-V ing wire fence of that type comprising several continuous parallel running wires, and

laterali-or vertical-wires attached to the running, wires, it is generally customary to move the running wires through the machine bya step-by-step forwarding feed and to attach the cross` wiresduring the periods of rest of the longitudinal wires.

Such an operationgenerally results in` an unevenness of tension in the running wires and inthe necessity of repeatedly stopping and starting the storage-roll of finished product.

The object of our present invention is to provide means, in ay machine ofthe general type indicated, for insuring uniformityof tension in the various longitudinal wires and for handling the product within the machine, in such manner that the storageroll may be continued in, its rotation, even during the periods of non-movement of the P longitudinal wires at that point in the machine where the lateral wires are being applied. v

The accompanyingdrawings illustrate our invention. Figure 1 is a side elevation-of a machine embodying our invention; Fig. 2 a fragmentary vertical section of a modification; Fig. 3y a fragmentary verticalV section on line 3-3 of Fig. 4 ofthe drum-driving train yof the form shown in Fig. 1; Fig. a plan of the parts shown inFig. 3 ;l and Fig. 5 a fragmentary plan of portions shown in Fig. 1.

In the drawings, 10 indicates one of the running, or longitudinal, wires which become part of the finished fabric. Each of these wires comes from a storage roll 11, the several storage rolls being mounted for independent rotation in any suitable sup' ance of the roll combination to the passage of the wires.

IVires 10 pass from lthe tensioning device 13 to and beyond a pointin the machine where lateral wires may be a plied thereto approximately at the point indicated in F 1g. 1) and from thence to feeding mechamsm byw which the wires are advanced,`relative to the point X, in a step-by-step vad-` vancernent, being supported at suitable points, as at S and 30 and 31.

We have found that, if the` wires 10 pass Vdirectly from the storage rolls 11 tothe `tensloning device 13, the various wires will be variably tensioned, the variations being `determined vby the different and constantlyvaryingfresistances offered by the several storage rolls, added to the constant resistance of the device 13. In order that this order to overcome the diiiiculty mentioned above (which results 1n an uneven product having nonparallel transverse wires) we pass all of the wires 10` loosely over, or through, what we have called a kicker bar 20 which is arranged to engage wires 10 between device 13 and rolls 11. Bar 2O iscar ried by arms 21 of a rock shaft 22 and this rock shaft isrocked, during periods of nonmovement of wires 10 at point X., by any suitable means to a suflicient extent to draw from rolls 11 enough wire to supply, without resistance from rolls 11, enough wire for the next advancement of wires 10 at point X. By this arrangement, the device 1,3 `may be so adjusted as to offer only enough resistance to the passage of wires 10l to-keepthem properly taut at kpoint X. In the drawings, shaft 22 is shown as being rocked by link 23, lever 24:, link 25, cross head 26, strap 27 and eccentric 28 carried by shaft 29, said shaft controlling a portion of the machine which serves to attach the lateral wires to the running wires and which is not illustrated because it is of well known construction and forms no part of our present invention.

In order that the storage-roll 17 may b. driven continuously, and the advancemei of wires 10 be step-by-step relative te TI-jfl,

X, the wires 10, to which the lateral wires have been attached, pass from point X to and over an idler 30, thence under an idler 31, over crimping roll 32, and under idler 33 to roll 17.

Crimping roll 32 is driven continuously at such a rate of speed that, in any cycle of the lateral-wire attaching means, the wires 10 will be advanced a distance equal to the required spacing of the lateral wires. As these spacings are fairly standard, we have indicated, in Figs. 3 and 4, a train of speed-changing gearing 40, of well known type, by .which the desired speeds of roll 32 may be attained. In order to provide the desired period of rest of wires l0 at point X, we arrange, between idlers and 31 Fig. 1) a reciprocating feed bar o1' roll 41, under which the fabric, comprising wires 10 and the attached lateral wires, passes. Roll 41 is carried by arms 42 pivoted conveniently on the axis of idler 31 and each of these arms is oscillated (of course in uni son) by a link 43, stra-p 44, and eccentric 45. Link 43 is preferably connected to its arm 42 by a collar 46 adjustable lengthwise on the arm 42 so that the stroke of roller 41 may be varied to properly cooperate with the crimping roll 32. The parts are so adjusted that, when lack of movement of wires 10 relative to point X is desired, roll 41 is moving upward, toward the plane defined by rolls 30 and 31, at a rate at least equal to the forwarding effect produced on wires 10 by the steady advance of roll 32. As soon as a lateral wire has been applied to wires 10, roll 41 moves downward, away from the plane of rolls 30 and 31, so as to augment the forward feeding effect of roll 32 on wires 10 by an amount sufficient to produce, in conjunction with roll 32, a forwarding of wires 10 at point X equa-l to the desired spacing between lateral wires, whereupon the operation is repeated.

In the form shown in Fig. 2, the wires 10 pass from point X to idler 30, and thence to crimping roll 32. Between rolls 30 and 32', the feed roll or bar 41 acts, said bar 41 being carried by arms 42 connected by adjustable collar 46 and link 43', with cross head 26.

Storage roll 17 will be driven, as is quite common in machines of this type, through a friction clutch 5() in order to make due allowanoe for the gradually increasing diameter due to accumulation of fabric on the storage roll.

By the provision of the roll 41 (or its equivalent) we are able to drive the storage and crimping rolls continuously by the eX penditure of much less power than is required by intermittent mofvement of these parts and we also find it possible to very greatly increase the average speed of advancement of wires 10 through the machine. As a consequence, we are able, by the very simple mechanism described, to very greatly increase the hourly output of machines of this type.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a fence-fabric machine, the combination of supports between which longitudinal wires are to advance step-by-step, of tension means back of said supports, independent storage rolls back of the tensioning means and delivering independent wires thereto, means acting upon said wires between the tensioning means and storage rolls for intermittently supplying slack in said wires during a period of non-movement of said wires immediately beyond the tensioning means, means acting upon said wires beyond said supports for continuously advancing said wires, and a reciprocatory member acting transversely on the wires behind said continuous advancer for varying the effect of said continuous advancer on the wires between said supports.

2. In a fence-fabric machine, the combi nation of supports between which longitudinal wires are to advance step-by-step, f tension means back of said supports, independent storage rolls back of the tensioning means and delivering independent wires thereto, means acting upon said wires beyond said supports for continuously advancing said wires, and a reciprocatory member acting transversely on the wires behind said continuous advancer for varying the effect of said continuous advancer on thc wires between said supports. v

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands at Anderson, Indiana, this 18th day of January, A. D. one thousand nine 4hundred and nineteen.

LAFE SVANK. JAMES E. VAN DEVENTER. 

